Apparatus for drawing and serving steam-beer



(No Model.)

t G. A. FRIEDRICH.

APPARATU S F OB DRAWING AND SERVING STEAM BEER.

Patented Sept. 10, 1895.

ANDREW BGRAHAM PHOTO'UTNQWASHINGTON DCv GEORGE A. FRIEDRICH, OF SANFRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

APPARATUS FOR DRAWING AND SERVING STEAM-BEER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 546,115, datedSeptember 10, 1895.

Application filed May 9,1895. Serial No. 548,726. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. FRIEDRICH, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California,have invented certain new and useful lmprovementsin Apparatus forDrawing and Serving Steam-Beer, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in.

devices for drawing and serving from the cask that kind of beer commonlyknown as steambeer 5 and these improvements have fortheir object,mainly, to overcome several defects and objections existing at thepresent time in devices and apparatus of the kind in use, as hereinaftermore particularly described, and to provide an apparatus that hasfeatures of cleanliness and readiness of operation and the quality ofserving the beer at uniform pressure under the varying conditions ofpressure in the cask and at all times sweet and free from sediment.

To this'eud and object my invention consists in theimproved constructionof receiver or pressure chamber and of faucet and connections, producinga complete device or apparatus of the kind as hereinafter described, andpointed out in the claims, reference being had in this specification tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a general view in elevation of thecomplete apparatus.

with a cask of beer connected to it, the shell of the receiver beingpartly in section. Fig. 2 is a side view of the faucet on an enlargedscale and partly in section. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the faucet-plug,showing the body of the plug partly in section. Fig. 4 is a crosssectionat a: so, Fig. 3.

A indicates the gas-tight vessel, in devices of this character usuallytermed the receiver, B, the cask of beer, and O the feeder or the pipeconnecting the cask with the receiver.

D is the draw-off pipe, through which the beer is drawn from time totime from the receiver into the glass, and E is the faucet at the end ofthat pipe.

A cock 0' is provided in the pipe 0 to control the flow into thereceiver, and a checkvalve 0 is placed in the pipe 0 to prevent theback-pressure from the receiver into the cask.

The vesselAis usually made ofcoppertinned or lined on the inside toprevent contamination of the beer by contact with metal sur faces thatmight improperly affect it, and an opening A is provided in the top ofsufficient size to admit the hand and a smaller one A in the bottom toafford an outlet for washing out the receiver. The opening A is closedby a screw-plug and a washer or packing A while a coupling is providedon the bottom of the receiver around the outlet A before mentioned,either for connecting to it a wastepipe or for closing it by ascrew-cap, as shown.

The object of this construction is to provide such facilities forcleaning out the receiver that all foul gases and odors can beeffectually removed and prevented from collecting by frequently washingout the chamber, and thus a sweet condition can be insured at all timesin the beer being served. Heretofore in devices for serving steam-beerthese re ceivers have been provided with only one opening, and thatlocated in the bottom, so that it became a difficult matter to dislodgethe foul air and gases and to thoroughly clean out the receiver, and asordinarily carried out the interior of the receiver frequently retainedfoul gases and bad odors after the cleansing operation. The feeder Denters the receiver through the side, in which itis suitably fixed toinsure a tight joint, and the inner end of the feeder is provided with aperforated cap F. Over this preforated end last mentioned is fixed along and relatively-narrow shield or hood G against the inside wall ofthe receiver, the lower end of which part G is carried downperpendicularly to within a short distance from the floor or bottom ofthe receiver, where it terminates in the mouth or opening G.

By the construction last described the beer is caused to flow quietlyand to charge the receiver Without stirring up and diffusing through thebeer the sediment on the bottom of the chamber, and that part which isthick or muddy is not disturbedby the charges or quantities passing upfrom the cask from time to time in the operation of the device, as thecombined effect of the perforated end and the shield or hood is toprevent this disturbance even when the pressure in the cask is thegreatest.

The improved point or feature in the faucet portion of my apparatusconsists in forming in a faucet having a longitudinally-mow able plug Ea number of recesses E in the surface of the plug just above theenlarged end that projects downwardly from the body of the faucet, theserecesses being located in that portion of the body which is situated inline with the passage-way E in the faucetbody. These recesses areshallow depressions in the cylindrical surface and are usually made ofrectangular form in outline with an excess in the length over thebreadth of the recess. Four of these cavities or recesses I have foundto answer the purpose, and these, arranged at regular distances apartaround the circumference of the plug-body, I connect together bytransverse passages E E formed by boring holes from the lower part ofeach cavity or recess toward the center of the plug and with an upwardslant and meeting together in the middle of the plug-body. Thisconstruction is shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 of the drawings.

The faucet used for the part E of my apparatus is of that class ordescription having a solid plug, around which the beer flows out whenthe plug is moved perpendicularly in the faucet-body, and in all otherrespects but that pertaining to the plug-body this faucet portion E ofmy apparatus is the same as the construction of devices generally usedat the present time for serving steam-beer. The object of thisconstruction relating to the fancet portion E is to prevent excessivefoaming and the production of froth at the first drawing into theglasses, particularly'when drawing from a freshly-tapped cask, at whichtime the pressure in the receiver is necessarily the greatest, and bythis improvement in the plug I am enabled to serve steam-beer withoutexcess of froth and at the same time I avoid the necessity hithertoexperienced of reducing the pressure in the receiver by blow ing off,particularly in serving from a fresh cask. The cavities or depressionsin the plug E effectually overcome excessive frothing and cause the beerto flow quietly and with proper life into the glass, and they enable thepressure to be maintained in the receiver and cask, even after aconsiderable quantityof the contents of the cask has been drawn off,because there is no need of reducing the pressure in the receiver at thetime of first drawing when the cask is freshly tapped.

This apparatus is also adapted for serving ale from the cask.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new therein,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein described apparatus for drawing and serving steam beer,consisting of the receiver having an opening in the top and a removableplug closing the same; a wasteaperture in the bottom; a feeder-pipeconnecting the receiver'with the cask and having a check-valve therein;a perforated nozzle on the outlet-end of said pipe; a shield within thereceiver covering said nozzle and extending downwardly over the same towithin a short distance of the bottom of the receiver; a service-pipecoupled to an outlet-aperture in the receiver; and a faucet on the endof said pipe having a longitudinally movable plug provided with recessesin its surface, combined for operation as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for drawing steam beer, the combination, with thereceiver to which the cask is connected, of the service-pipe and afaucet thereon having a longitudinally movable plug provided withrecesses or cavities in its body, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand andseal.

GEO. A. FRIEDRICH.

\Vitnesses:

EDWARD E. OSBORN, O. W. M. SMITH.

